FCA sets initial dashboard rules despite longer wait for providers
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The Financial Conduct Authority has published the framework for pensions dashboard service firms. It is doing so despite a recent announcement that the government’s dashboard will take priority, saying it wants to give commercial providers certainty over the initial regulatory requirements.
The FCA has published the rules following two consultations, in 2022 and 2024. It said doing so now means firms can start preparing their business models, service design, research and testing “well in advance of our gateway opening to accept applications for the new permission”.
"We will open the gateway only when it is possible for applicants to show they are ready, willing and organised to undertake the new activity of operating a pensions dashboard service,” the body that will oversee dashboard providers said, which means firms need all the necessary information from government and the PDP.
Pensions minister Emma Reynolds recently revealed she will direct the PDP to prioritise the publicly funded dashboard, run by the Money and Pensions Service, and that this should run for a period before private sector dashboards become operational.
The latest connection schedule is unchanged, with schemes and providers connecting from next year. This is under guidance only, but there is a hard connection deadline of 31 October 2026. However, it is still unclear when pension dashboards will become available to consumers.
The FCA said the prioritisation of the publicly run dashboard meant the launch of private sector versions is “still some way into the future”. It is nonetheless finalising its rules now to give interested parties some certainty over the initial FCA requirements, it added.
FCA rules are 'cautious', say potential dashboard providers
Mike Ambery, retirement savings director at Standard Life, welcomed this regulatory certainty and called the publication of the rules “a big step forward".
However, he criticised what he said was “a cautious approach to timescales and restrictions on how data can be exported”, but pointed out that the FCA said the paper only forms the initial versions of the rules, “so we look forward to seeing them evolve”.
Rachel Vahey, head of public policy at investment platform AJ Bell, agreed the FCA has adopted a cautious approach in its rules, potentially sacrificing simplicity in the process. “Parts of the consumer journey are still laborious, and not designed from the customer’s perspective,” she said.
She was also unhappy with the lack of a clear timetable for the availability of dashboards from commercial providers.
“Setting a clear date for commercial dashboards would allow providers to start planning in earnest. The development of dashboards has already been a bumpy ride with numerous stops and starts, and changes in who is responsible for getting it over the starting line,” Vahey said.
The absence of a timetable is mainly “a huge let-down for customers”, she said. A variety of organisations offering dashboards means savers would be better reached, giving more people the ability to find lost pensions, she argued.
